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Saturday, June 30, 2007

Christians (and other non-Muslims) in Muslim majority countries are increasingly facing harassment, violence and death. Here's something lovely just out of Pakistan:

Lawyers in Pakistan are investigating a report that up to 30 men tortured and gang-raped a young Christian man for refusing to convert to Islam. The victim is seriously injured and unable to move, Release International’s partner in Pakistan has reported. However, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) the police are keeping him locked up and have denied him medical treatment. The police are also refusing to register the rape following a counter-claim made by his principal attacker – “a man of influence”, Release International has told Christian Today.

According to Andy Dipper, CEO of Release International there has been a worrying increase in the amount of attacks on Christians in Pakistan:

“We are receiving reports of rape, abductions and forced conversion. Pakistan is becoming an increasingly difficult place for Christians to live. To make matters worse, the government is pushing through a law which could impose the death penalty for any Muslim man who converts to Christianity – and life imprisonment for any woman. As well as being an attack on the basic human rights of Muslims, this will also make things harder for Christians who preach the gospel.

Pakistan seems to be failing in its attempt to keep the extremists at bay. As much as they claim to be helping in the "War on Terror" they seem to be losing a major battle on the homefront. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was recently warned, by his Interior Ministry (in a 15 page document)

"that the influence of the extremists is swiftly bleeding east and deeper into his own country, threatening areas like Peshawar, Nowshera and Kohat, which were considered to be safeguarded by Pakistani government forces. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, the prime mover behind the document, narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack in April by extremists in his home area of Charsadda, 18 miles northeast of Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province. The attack on Mr. Sherpao shook his confidence in General Musharraf’s policy toward the militants, which has included a series of peace deals. Since the peace accords have been signed, the militants have filled a vacuum left by tribal leaders, who have taken a back seat, and by the military, which has retreated to its barracks, the president’s critics say. The policy has been questioned by the United States and by some of General Musharraf’s own officers. “It’s a policy of appeasement,” said Brig. Mahmood Shah, who was the senior Pakistani government official in charge of security in the tribal areas until last year. “It hasn’t worked. The Talibanization has increased in the past year.”

The document divulges the names of the many known Taliban (and other militant) leaders in that country and describes the various problems that they are facing in the various regions of Pakistan including:

In Swat, a scenic area that the government recommends for tourists, an extremist imam has begun to issue edicts against vaccination, female education and female health workers. A local FM radio station spouts jihadist beliefs, the document said.

In two areas, Bannu and Tank, the police are “patronizing the local Taliban and have abdicated the role of law and order,” the document said. In an example of the impotence of local government forces, the document said that “every military or sting operation” drew retaliation in the form of suicide bombings or terrorist attacks. In an illustration of the surge in violence, the report said Taliban fighters had gone on a rampage in Tank, ransacking banks, schools, gas pumps andcheckpoints after an assistant to a Taliban leader who was enrolling students for jihad operations was killed by the police.

In a series of recommendations, the document called for the local enforcement agencies to tackle the militants “head on.” But it gave no suggestion how that was to be done. It suggested blocking FM radio transmissions by extremists and called for a media campaign to mobilize public opinion.

A Western Diplomat claims that although the Pakistani government is aware of the spreading cancer of extremism in their country, they are either unable to do anything about it, or choose not to. Fear and appeasement will send us on a fast train to hell.

The problem with losing the Middle East to the fundamentalists (and that's happening faster than anyone cares to acknowledge) is that it's a quick hop, skip and a jump to Europe and then what?

Remember terrorist Mickey preaching jihad and world domination on the (Hamas) Al-Aqsa TV programme entitled "Tomorrow's Pioneers" that I wrote several posts about a while back? Well, it looks like he was offed in the final episode. And guess who performed the dastardly deed- yep, an actor dressed as an evil Israeli Zionist official beat the oversized mouse to death.

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter.He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

We are not born with the inherent capacity to hate. Feelings of hatred, prejudice and bigotry are learned emotions. Oftentimes passed on from generation to generation and ethnic group to ethnic group, it's a result of ignorance and feelings of separation and superiority. I'm not talking about the "hatred" we have for things that are mere personal preference, like hating brussels sprouts or heavy metal music. The hatred I'm talking about is the hatred generated for those who happen to be different from us, be it racial, religious, economic or cultural. A hatred so unbridled and fierce, that it elicits a strong, uncontrollable desire to physically harm that group of people because of those perceived differences. That kind of hatred is taught. It is also definitely a choice. As adults, we can either choose to allow hatred to poison our minds and hearts, or we can refuse to allow those feelings to transform us into hate-mongers. We can either choose to sow the seeds of intolerance by teaching our children to hate others, or we can teach them to love and respect those who are different.

The following video is an eye-opening series of clips demonstrating how the Arab Muslims systematically indoctrinate their children with hatred. From cartoons that glorify violence and child suicide bombers, to an interview with sickeningly proud mothers of Hezbollah martyrs, to an interview with a Saudi Arabian Cleric Muhammad Hassan who proclaims that:

"The heroes in the land of Falluja. The heroes in the land of Palestine. The heroes in the land of Chechnya have brought a smile or a spark of hope back to the wounded. While any righteous Muslim searches for a spark of light in this utter darkness. Children, my brother. Children teach the adults the meaning of manhood. Who would have thought that one day our children would make history and blow themselves up?"

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I've seen some despicable attempts at scamming kind-hearted people out of their hard-earned money, but this tops them all.

An 'anonymous' unmarried couple is claiming that if they don't raise $50,000.00 within 80 days (of this posting), they will abort their unborn baby. Although not destitute, they say they don't have the money to properly raise the child and adoption is not an option for the 'mother'; hence the "ransom" demand for the baby.

"It comes down to this. If we can't raise the $50,000 in the next 3 months, we'll have to choose abortion. We don't like it, and we don't like the nature of our appeal, but it is what it is. We're asking you to donate money to us using the link to your left. Anything you can givewould be appreciated."

The site, Helpmybabylive is hosted by invisihosting, a service that allows the client to remain completely anonymous, which would tend to confirm the scam nature of the Internet appeal. However, even if the situation happened to be legit, it's still absolutely reprehensible, perhaps even more so. That a young couple would place a monetary value on the life of a child, when adoption is a viable option, regardless of the 'mother's belief "that she doesn't believe that she'd be able to give up a child after giving birth to it" is truly shameful.

I wonder if these are the same people who created the savetoby.com site, that threatened to eat Toby, the rabbit, if they did not receive $50,000.00 in donations. Did they think there would be greater appeal ( and therefore more money) if they graduated from a rabbit to a baby?

Helpmybabylive.com has, to date, accumulated $12,500 in donations via Pay Pal, or so the website says.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

As if forcing women to cloak themselves in sacks of cloth (other than peepholes for their eyes) isn't wretched enough, the Saudi government continues to dehumanize women by segregating them from men in the work place.

"Female bank employees are being partitioned away from their male colleagues in their workplaces under new rules enforcing Saudi segregation of the sexes, a move women say is squeezing them out of the few business realms where they have been gaining more rights." "Saudi Arabia has long enforced a strict Islamic lifestyle in which men and women are segregated in public, including at schools, universities, restaurants,lines outside international fast food outlets and bank branches catering to customers.

The measures are a major setback for women, who have long struggled to prove themselves in this male-dominated society. Saudi women are believed to make up less than 10 percent of the work force and have mostly worked in the education and health sectors. They insist they were not breaching Islamic principles by working with men. They said banks already had strict rules governing interactions between the sexes. For example, female staffers had to wear always the mandatory black abaya, or cloak, and veil. They could not wear makeup, hold closed-door meetings with the male staff or date them. Many also could not attend business lunches with male clients for fear the religious police would arrest them for illegally mixing with men."

So, the Saudis wrap their women in swaths of black material so that they're totally indistinguishable from a walking bolt of fabric, unable to drive, segregated in all public places and YET they still feel the need to segregate them in the work place? How insane is that? Do Muslim/Arab men have so little self control that a pair of hands and 2 eyes are a temptation? Placing the burden for man's inability to control his sexual desires on a woman is reprehensible. And it certainly doesn't say much for their spiritual fortitude or their religion , for that matter.

Monday, June 25, 2007

No matter where you stand on the abortion issue, I think we can all agree that forcing someone to have an abortion, against their will, is horrendous. And yet this is something that has been occurring in China for many years, and continues to be an ongoing problem. Women up to 9 months pregnant have been forced to abort because they exceeded the 1 child per family quota for urban areas, or were unmarried. Although the family planning laws have relaxed somewhat, and some families are allowed a second child (for a fine)there are reports that, in spite of this, the practice continues because

"local officials must keep new births in their region down below a specified target or face fines and a poor career record. Family planning officials have been reported to use violence in many parts of China in order to keep births down. Couples who get pregnant after more than one child have complained of beatings and even house demolitions resulting from their breach of strict population guidelines."

China has also been forcing and coercing sterilization, as well, in their continuing efforts to stem the population growth. Beijing denies this brutal practice still exists but Chen Guangcheng, a blind human rights activist, was sentenced to 4 years in prison (in August, 2006) on trumped up charges.

"Chen's run-in with the government began after he filed an unprecedented class-action lawsuit against Linyi City health officials. The suit attacked officials for their inhuman treatment of women and their unborn children in the Shangdong province in what Chen viewed as violations in enforcing the "one-child-policy." Although Beijing's official policy now prohibits forced sterilizations and abortions, local government officials continue to apply the brutal methods to fulfill population control quotas mandated by Beijing. And Chen was recently "beaten by six fellow inmates at the behest of his jailers for insisting on his right to appeal his sentence and refusing to have his head shaved."

Chen was instrumental in exposing forced abortions and sterilization by local officials.

Despite China's promises to clean up its act regarding Human Rights (as a condition for being allowed to host the upcoming Olympic Games), the country has an extremely long way to go.

An interesting side-note regarding China's forced abortions:

Pat Robertson, in an interview on CNN in 2001, said: "I don't agree with it, but at the same time they've got 1.2 billion people and they don't know what to do."The U.N. (through their UNFPA) continues to fund"population control programs including forced abortions in China and pro-abortion liberals consistently try to force the U.S. to fund UNFPA. Many of the tactics used by the UNFPA in China are also now being exported to other nations like Indonesia and Vietnam. For more information visit: www.pop.org."

Saturday, June 23, 2007

For 6 months, this young Palestinian woman was treated by an Israeli doctor for some severe burns from an accident. She had been given special permission. Doctor and patient seemed to have bonded until one day, on her way to another treatment, at the clinic, she was discovered at the Gaza border with a 20 pound bomb in her underpants. Had she accomplished her mission, there would have been approximately 100 people maimed or killed at the hospital outpatient clinic, where she was being treated. She would also have killed the doctor who had been kindly helping her to heal. When caught, she tried to detonate the bomb anyway- twice! But there seems to have been a malfunction. In the video you see her cries of anguish when it fails to detonate. Apparently, her fiancee left her and she was depressed, so the typical Palestinian reaction was to martyr herself.

This is what happens when you pump into your children's impressionable minds that they are worth more dead than alive. And this is why Israelis have every right to be wary of their Palestinian neighbours.

Friday, June 22, 2007

I think this recent post on Housewife4Palestine's "Peace for Palestine" blog speaks for itself. It demonstrates how totally skewed their thinking is, and it's obvious nothing will change that. Note the typical blaming of others, and the blatant lies they have so easily accepted as the Truth. Personally, I find the post rather sickening. And she's a representative voice of the ordinary Palestinian. There is just no reasoning with people so full of hatred. And not much hope for Peace in that region with people who feel that the violence of Hamas is totally justified.

West Chooses Fatah, Palestinians Choose Hamas?

21 June 2007by Housewife4Palestine

"Showing a few points on the current situation in retrospect, firstly, that many in Fatah are not really for the Palestinian interest, they are more in tune to their own interest. From what I have seen, always have been. I will touch on one thing though, the weapons that Fatah has gotten to often is from the American’s, while Hamas this is not the case; otherwise Hamas cannot be bought.

Hamas from everything I have seen, the reason they are being attacked and dehumanized is due to the fact they cannot be bought and actually want a unified Palestinian state for not just people that are Muslim, but those who are actually Jewish and Christians as well. [and that includes forcing them to submit to Islam, or!! as I posted a few days ago] For many people forget the fact, that Christians, Jews and Muslims are being murdered for this occupation by Israel. What better way to have true peace then to reopen Jerusalem and all religions live as neighbors as it was before this occupation ever began.

Touching on the recent situation there is an ancient law that when you are a traitor to your own people your punishment is death.[how very civilized!!] The list of collaborator’s (traitor’s), that Hamas has been using came from those people (Fatah) that are true to the Palestinian cause and not puppets to Israel or their allies. I am yet to understand, why any family that is associated with Fatah and not a collaborator, what they have to fear other then that which is with the occupying force of Israel.

Again, I am yet to understand, why and would begrudge an actual peaceful solution, other then one fact that Hamas refuses to except occupation and the heinous crime’s that has been perpetrated against all Palestinians. While on the other hand, Israel will never humanize the Palestinian people and recognize they have any rights at all to their own country. [check out the David Horowitz video below for the truth about Arab rights in Israel!]

What is always astonishing to me is how the West with Israel keeps the worldview clouded [no, the Palestinians worldview is clouded by hatred] or not always let people actually see what the right hand is doing, but always the left in what is going on. People can jump all over the place and say this is going on or that is going on, when in fact the core issue is very simple, there is an occupation by an alien force called Israel while people can argue or debate until they are blue in the face this will always be a fact. You have the Palestinians who have live with a hideous genocide [sigh] for generations now and in that time resistance forces came about, which the most promante are Fatah and Hamas.

This war has gone on for over one hundred years and while people actually in this war are tired of it, tired of living in hardships and sorrow; there is honorable people that refuse to give up the reality of what is true and right. While there is other’s who became weak which in turn many collaborator’s are formed to an end that they do not realize that one way or other would end by their demise either by those still true to the Palestinian people or those who oppose the reality of a real Palestine."

Honourable people? There is NO honour in embracing violence, and murder. No honour in choosing terrorists as your leaders. No honour in teaching your children to hate others, and strapping bombs onto them (and yourself) to achieve dis-honourable ends. There is no honour in wishing the total annihilation of another group of people.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

They say "you get what you ask for", and it looks like the Palestinians got just that. If you choose 'darkness', that's exactly what you will get. You vote, overwhelmingly, into power a terrorist organization, and you'll get chaos, violence and death. The Palestinian people had to have known that there would be repercussions, both globally and locally, for choosing terrorists to head their government, and yet they still voted them in. Since electing Hamas into power, the situation there has progressively worsened. A cesspool to begin with, it has now degenerated into something far worse, if that's at all possible. But what did they expect to accomplish by voting in a majority leadership that embraces violence with as much fervour as their religion? Did they really expect the violence to stop, rather than escalate? Did they expect the world to embrace them with open arms, rather than slapping sanctions on them? Or, did they vote for Hamas because they believed, in their hearts of hearts, that only Hamas would be capable of accomplishing what most Palestinians truly want: an end to Israel. Not Peace. Because "Peace" does not exist in the Hamas vernacular.

I realize not all Palestinians voted for Hamas (I'm sure most of the Christians there didn't), and it's those people my heart bleeds for. Christians in Gaza have already been warned to submit to Islam, or suffer the consequences. Peace activists and UN workers were gunned down and killed in Gaza, by Hamas militants:

"The first incident occurred when some 1,000 unarmed Palestinian demonstrators marched in Gaza City demanding that Hamas end itsmurderous rampage, reported Ha'aretz. As the protesters approached a Hamas position, militants opened fire, killing two people and sending the rest scattering in fear. Shortly after, two employees of the UN refugee relief agency operating in Gaza were shot dead by Hamas gunmen, prompting the world body to suspend its aid work in the blood-soaked coastal strip."

How utterly lacking in conscience is that? And, of course, they'll immediately criticize Aid groups for abandoning them. And the anti-Israelis and idiots, like Jimmy Carter, will continue to bemoan the situation there, and blame the Israelis and the U.S., and anyone other than the Palestinians themselves. I know this is a simplistic solution to an enormously complicated situation, but I firmly believe that if the Palestinians could somehow shed their decades worth of virulent hatred, accept that Israel has as much a right to exist as they do, and make a concerted effort to live peaceably together, embracing their neighbours as brothers not as enemies, then perhaps there could be peace in that region. But there are still many, like Housewife4Palestine, who wholeheartedly support Hamas and their vision of an Israeli-free world, and as long as they exist, peace is well-nigh impossible.H/T WeaselZippers

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

No, not a blog post, but I was googling myself plus the play I'm in (yeah, we do that), a few days ago, and lo and behold there was a link to a newspaper blurb on Huffington Post! Turns out one of the actors has the same name as a well known politician in another State, and somehow it got snagged on Huffpo. It's not there any longer, but I did have a long laugh when I saw that.

As expected, none of the major reviews have been positive, so far. The focus of most, if not all, of the criticism has been the play. But I knew that would happen. It's just not a good play. So, naturally, this will be one credit that does NOT make it to my resume'.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

There are people who love to blame the U.S. for the ills of the world. And, why not, I guess? Someone has to be blamed, and it's easier to blame others for our own failures, so why not the U.S. There are also those who seem to think that we have some grand, nefarious, imperialistic goal of eventually taking over the whole world. Uh, no, there are other political and religious ideological entities that have that end result in mind. You just have to look back through history to see who the worst imperialist offenders were, and that mind-set hasn't changed much since those days. The U.S. could care less about establishing an Empire, and who, in their right (civilized mind), would want that responsibility, anyway? But there are those who keep attempting to perpetuate that myth. Fidel Castro, it seems, is one such person that is convinced that we have our eyes firmly set on his small island, and by God, says he, the people of Cuba and their "revolution will fight until the last drop of blood" to defend that land. A mere 90 miles from the Florida Keys, I guarantee you, that if we truly wanted Cuba, it would have been ours a long time ago. Castro shared his quite laughable paranoia in a full page manifesto to the people, published in the Communist Party newspaper, Granma, on Monday. (Definitely worth a read.) It's a long diatribe on how the U.S. is responsible for all their woes and how:

"Bush has intensified his plans for an occupation of Cuba, to the point of proclaiming laws and an interventionist government in order to install a direct imperial administration."

Huh? What laws and what interventionist government? He also broaches the subject of the U.S. embargo against Cuba:

"It will very soon be 50 years since our people started suffering a cruel blockade; thousands of our sons and daughters have died or have been mutilated as a result of the dirty war against Cuba, the only country in the world to which an Adjustment Act has been applied inciting illegal emigration, yet another cause of death for Cuban citizens, including women and children."

As far as I know, the U.S. is the only country that has an embargo against Cuba, and that was initiatedonly after Cuba confiscated the property of U.S. Citizens. Why should a country be allowed to forcibly seize property belonging to others without repercussions? Is that fair? I think not. That's just common, government-mandated thievery. Granted, Cubans did lose their main source of supplies, 15 years ago, with the collapse of Communist Eastern Europe and the USSR, but surely, they can do business with other countries. The U.S. has never forced global sanctions on Cuba, so there are plenty of other countries that certainly could trade with them. What about China? And, I always thought the whole concept of Communism was to be self-sufficient, and to share the wealth amongst the people. Shouldn't they be thriving, by now? As far as I could tell, when I visited there in the 80s, the top Communist Party officials seemed to be living quite well, while the impoverished people continued to suffer, a mere 20 years after Castro's glorious "revolution". A revolution that was meant to better the lot of the Cubanos, and which has managed to do the opposite, through no fault other than a failed political system. He's, obviously clueless as to why so many of his people will do anything to get off that communist 'paradise', including risking life and limb, by setting out to sea on a tire. He touts the Revolution for:

"training hundreds of thousands of teachers, doctors, scientists, intellectuals, artists, computer engineers and other professionals with university and post-graduate degrees in dozens of professions. This storehouse of wealth has allowed us to reduce infant mortality to low levels, unthinkable in any Third World country, and to raise life expectancy as well as the average educational level of the population up to the ninth grade."

But, who cares, frankly, about free education, sub-par medical services, reduced infant mortality and a higher life-expectancy, when you have no freedom and your quality of life is sorely lacking. He also blames imperialism for global warming:

"Hunger and thirst, more violent hurricanes and the surge of the sea is what Tyranians and Trojans stand to suffer as a result of imperial policies. It is only through drastic energy savings that humanity will have a respite and hopes of survival for the species; but the consumer societies of the wealthy nations are absolutely heedless of that."

What can I say?!

He ends his missive with a message to George W:

"I assure you that you will never have Cuba!"

Guess what, we don't want Cuba! We might want freedom for your people, but don't flatter yourself, Fidelcito, the U.S. has no designs on your small, crumbling piece of real estate.

Monday, June 18, 2007

I'm going to have to rank the rehearsal process, for this particular show, as one of the top 2 stress-filled experiences I have ever endured, in my long career as an actress. The other was several years ago, when I was briefly involved, as a company member, with a theatre headed by a crazy 'foreign' director.

Opening a show is stressful enough without having to deal with the personalities of what I call "Crazies": those people who thrive on 'drama', and not of the theatrical kind. Those controlling types who have a hard time delegating, and yet resent having to do everything themselves. Those who feel the need to scream and shout to be understood. Those who feel their lives will be too boring unless they are constantly faced with some form of catastrophe. Those who would rather live by the seat of their pants, and relish the havoc of disorganization. I'm convinced those kinds of people actually attract negativity into their lives because they need it to feel alive. Having been a "Crazy", in the past, I know this to be true. I was the one who always had some kind of terrible mishap to share with my friends, and the more outlandish the better. I had some pretty strange things happen, over the years. It made me, somehow, feel more interesting. But, I finally reached a point, in my life, when I realized that I neither wanted nor needed that any longer, and as soon as I made a conscious effort to choose peace and calm over chaos, my life changed, quite dramatically. It's not to say that things don't happen to cause me grief, but I know that they don't happen as often as they did in the past.

This director, although he has a good heart and means well, is a "Crazy". Our tech, last weekend, was insanity. Each show has one tech day called a 10/12 (or in our case 8/10) where you work 10 hours in a 12 hour day. Normally, the technical crew will do what we call, in theatre, a "dry tech". It's a rehearsal of all the technical elements, without the actors. Then the actors are brought in and the show is run "Cue to Cue". In other words, we go from one technical cue to the next. This saves time. We did neither of those things. Decisions with lighting and sound are usually made during "production meetings" prior to tech. This didn't happen either, so those decisions were being made during tech. Then we lost our technical director, the day after tech, with opening just days away. Personality conflict, so it seems. There was also some major upset over a piece of equipment that broke and had to be replaced.

And, usually before the week of opening you've had, at least, several runs of the show, without stopping. The director will take notes and give them to the actors after the run, so the actor can get a feel for the continuity of the show, and to see if there might be problems with quick costume changes. This didn't happen until Thursday! We cancelled our Thursday preview and ran the show twice. The Director promised not to say a word, and thankfully, he kept his promise but, up until then, he was stopping the show every few minutes, for one reason or another. 'Scenus interruptus' has to be one of the most frustrating things ever. We then had a run Friday before our Preview, and a run before Opening Night, but it was still highly stressful and fraught with outbursts for various reasons. However, we did manage to get through opening weekend relatively unscathed, and with only some minor problems, although who knows what the critics are going to say.

All I know is that the director is going to blow a gasket one day, and I told him as much, though I don't think he 'heard'. "Crazies" usually don't. I also know, that I would have to be very desperate to work at that theatre again. It's just all too crazy for me.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

I am one of those few who have been truly blessed with an amazingly wonderful Dad. He's my biggest supporter and most devoted fan. He has probably seen pretty much every show and play reading I have done, as a professional, and the few he's missed were out of his control. He'll do anything for his girls (Mum and my sis and I) with nary a complaint. He's driven me, long distance, to many auditions, and once, when I was sick, drove me 9 plus hours after a show for a voice-over job in another State, and then back for my next performance. He's moved me from one city to another, cross-country, more than once. He's funny, gentle and kind and a truly selfless human being. He's my hero.

Another truly amazing Dad is Dick Hoyt. If you haven't heard about the Team Hoyt story, watch one of the following videos. It is truly inspiring! The first explains their story. The 2nd one is shorter and underscored with music. Incredibly heartwarming. The endless love this man has for his son!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

A joke, for some levity, which Iparticularly need. We open Saturday, 1st Preview tomorrow night and it's been hellish. See you all Sunday night, when I will respond to past posts and catch up on all your blogs! Meantime:

Chelsea Clinton was departing her plane at the airport and came upon a soldier and proceeded to talk to him.

She asked him where he had been, to which he replied "Baghdad". She praised him for what he had done for the country and asked "Were you scared?"

He replied, "No, but I am scared about what I am facing as I return to the United States." Chelsea asked, "What are you afraid of as you return to the United States?"

He looked seriously at her and said "I am afraid of three things:Osama, Obama and Yomama."

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Thought I would share this with y'all, considering it was aimed as much at you (at least those of you who commented) as it was to me. It's in response to my recent post about the Palestinian Housewife. I'm too tired and frazzled (from today's rehearsal) to respond, so have at it, if you like! Hard to believe there are people out there who actually think this way. I also find it interesting that people who leave these kinds of rants never have the guts to leave links to their blogs.

By the way, VikingWoman, none of us is from Israel!VikingWoman from the Netherlands said...

WOW! What an amazing outlook on this Palestinian womans blog post... I am guttered by your narrow minds, and all of these comments on your post. "I hate to say it but Israel should have made them all refugees during the 6 day war" WTF! That is just Israel and the Zionists in a nutshell. You always think you stand above all human races and think YOU can do whatever you want. It's not the other way around you fools, last time I checked Palestine did not have any more weapons than a few rockets and some stones, while Israel has EVERYTHING and are sure as hell not afraid of using it. Clusterbombs? Let's GO!! WITH LOVE FROM ISRAEL! Oh and let's just kidnap the whole Palestinian government while we're at it! Build a fucking WALL around your little country. Hell yeah, that will work! I am wondering when you're going to put a ROOF over the walls so that you are completely "safe"! You know Israel used to have my sympathy. Really. I used to believe the media that the Zionists only wanted to "defend" themselves, reading all the lies coming from the Jewish media. Felt sorry for the Jews and what they went through in WW2. But all your cries about the Holocaust is starting to wear out now, and it is so hard to swallow and accept that the ones that were once followed and brutally murdered by the evil Nazi's has become the Nazi's themselves!! Hard to believe, huh? That you didn't learn anything from that nightmare is just unbelievable. You should be ashamed of yourselves and don't think that your narrow perception of the truth is the only and correct one. Not so. The whole world opinion is turning AGAINST the Zionists and their ally, USA. You wont fucking see it before you have managed to stear the whole world into World War III. But I guess that does not scare you at all, that's probably your last wish. Stop harassing this woman and get on with your lives!

Monday, June 11, 2007

We only have a few more days before our first preview (Thursday) and this is what I call 'crunch time': when everything you haven't worked on, over the past few weeks, has to be crammed into a few days, with never enough time to get it all done. And that includes trying to remember your lines! This has been particularly challenging, as we continue to get script cuts and changes (though admittedly, many have been my suggestions), but it's as difficult to un-memorize lines as it is to memorize them, at least the older one gets. The same goes for the blocking (the movement on stage) which also keeps changing. The director has a reputation for last minutes changes (even up until and including opening night) so, the next few days should prove quite harrowing. If we don't all kill each other, it will be a miracle.

We had our first tech rehearsal on Sunday (where you put all the technical elements together-lights, sound, costumes) and, unfortunately, it took longer than anticipated. In fact, we barely got through, even with an hour of overtime, and never got to work in costumes, which should prove interesting considering some of the actors have quite a few, and we've no idea if we will have time for those quick changes. And we've never actually run the play without stopping. Though that's not uncommon, it's by no means ideal! On several past productions, our first preview was our first runthrough (as we call it). A rather frightening situation and not something we relish. Not sure what will happen this time, but I'm girding myself for beaucoup stress. Tempers are already flaring.

It's been an interesting ride. I've worked on new plays before, but never actively participated in re-shaping one. We really needed more rehearsal time, but I'm happy to say, I was able to cut and change most of the dialogue that I initially had problems with, and the director and playwright (and some of the other actors) made other cuts that have made the play more palatable, but it's still problematic and I still have no fondness for the project, but at least I don't hate it as much as I did. What the audience will think of it and what the critics will say, is another story.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

For the Art lovers out there, this is an amazing and beautiful video that features 500 years of female portraits in Western Art. Worth the few minutes it takes to watch, particularly in light of all the ugliness in our world today. I found it lifted my spirit.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Costa Rica has decided to forsake almost 60 years of "solidarity and co-operation"with democratic Taiwan, in order to establish ties with communist China! Taiwan, or the Republic of China (ROC), as it is also known, has been vying for recognition ever since China and Taiwan split in 1949 after the Chinese Civil War. China refuses to establish diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Taiwan, so, a choice has to be made: Taipei or Beijing, and considering China has its sights set on becoming the next major world super power, it's obvious which choice will be made. Taiwan, sadly, has been slowly losing the battle. There are now fewer than 26 countries which maintain full, formal diplomatic relations with the ROC, although it does have unofficial ties with approximately 147 others.

According to an AP Report, "China spends heavily to induce nations to change diplomatic allegiances, offering investment, loans and other incentives." In other words, it bribes countries to switch allegiances. Money talks, as they say. Sound familiar? That's how Chavez has been managing to win votes and turn other Latin American countries towards his political bent. Not surprising, considering both those systems of government are cut from the same cloth.

Costa Rica's choice is based on economics. China apparently purchased over $1 billion in Costa Rican exports in 2006, and is considered the "Central American nation's No. 1 trading partner."President Oscar Arias obviously wants to continue to profit from China's trade, and so his country has made its choice. Of his decision to break ties with Taiwan, Arias said "China is the most successful emerging economy in the world and soon it will be the second strongest economy in the world after the United States.....We are looking to strengthen the commercial ties and attract investment."

Taiwan's main fear is that with Costa Rica's change of heart, many of the other Latin American countries might be inspired to follow suit, and their 'survival' as a democracy, so to speak, is contingent upon whether they are recognized as a legitimate 'state'. The fewer countries that support Taiwan, the greater the likelihood that it will, eventually, be absorbed by mainland China. Something Beijing desperately wants and Taipei does not. Taiwan has been battling this for decades. It doesn't help that the ROC lost its United Nations seat in 1971 to the People's Republic of China (PRC), even though it was a founding member. Since then, most member states have switched their diplomatic allegiances to Communist China, recognizing the PRC as the only legitimate representative of all Chinese interests. I find it obscene, that the U.N. would dump a founding member state, for a regime that usurped its power to begin with. And to continue to choose a communist country over a democratic sovereign state is appalling. 23 million lives hang in the balance. Their freedom is at stake.

I find this all terribly sad and disturbing, but just proves that it's all about the bottom line.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Guess what the top 5 names Brits are calling their bouncing baby boys:

Jack, Joshua, Oliver, Thomas and Mohammed!

And would you believe that of those top 5 names (in 2006), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Jack came in first with 6,928 newborns so named, and Mohammed (and its 14 different variations), came in 2nd, with a whopping 5,991! And, it looks like Mohammed (the most popular spelling) is poised to become the most popular name by next year, if the birth trends of the Muslim population in Britain continue to grow, as they have been. According to The Times, there are approximately 1.5 million Muslims in England (3% of the population),

"However, the Muslim birthrate is roughly three times higher than the nonMuslim one. Statistics from the ONS show that Muslim households are larger than those headed by someone of another religion. In 2001, the average size of a Muslim household was 3.8 people while a third contained more than five people."

If the birthrate of Muslims is 3 times higher than non-Muslims, and continues to grow exponentially, well, you do the math.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Here we have the ever charming Hugo Chavez speechifying from the Venezuelan Embassy in Beijing, China, (sometime last year) about his undying love for the Israelis. I have translated below, in case you don't speak Spanish. It's actually good for a laugh, considering the source, and the country he made the speech in.

"How do you justify, eh, all this aggression, all this fascism, this unleashed fury, against an innocent people. [with all the] bombings, how many children have died? A few hours ago, I was reading a communique' from a group of international human rights organizations that talk of genocide. And I believe that there has occurred a genocide. There has occurred a genocide. I believe that those in Israel who are responsible, for this genocide, should be brought before international tribunals. We have to do away with these fascist attitudes in the world. Israel criticizes Hitler alot, so do we, but they have done something similar, what do I know.. maybe worse, than what the Nazis did ..to half the world. That is fascism....."

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Yes, it's my Birthday.... another year older and hopefully wiser, although at this stage in the game, I think I'll start counting backwards. I have to rehearse from 2 to 8, so no celebrations. Ah well.

I discovered, on Encarta, that I share my birthday with some interesting luminaries. They're all dead, except for Kumin:

Monday, June 04, 2007

I don't deny that living in Gaza and other Palestinian enclaves must be hellish. Living in a region with so much daily violence must eventually take it's toll, physically, mentally and emotionally. But most of that hellishness is self-provoked, and it's just as hellish for the Israelis, something the Palestinians refuse to take any responsibility for. They seem to think they have every right to bomb and kill Israelis without some form of reprisal, and yet, when the Israelis do retaliate (and rightfully so), they suddenly feel brutalized and victimized and many, ridiculously, liken it to "genocide". Like Housewife4Palestine. In a recent post, she claims:

"Palestinian Holocaust Worse in History"

"Last night my adopted village was attacked by the Israeli’s, while there are minimal causalities at this time, the destruction of the village is astronomical in proportion. In the occupied terrorties at this time no place is truly safe, the genocide and destruction for us who are Palestinian is so bad that it is becoming too much for our understanding to the extent that it is just a reminder to what Jenin looked like just a few years ago."

This woman is so paranoid and deluded she believes the Israelis are actually waging biological warfare against the Palestinians: style="color:#660000;">

"In every way imaginable, we are being attacked, from the ground, from the air to biological and bacterial warfare. I am yet to understand how anyone with and once of humanity would allow a genocide of this magnitude to continue, for the Jewish holocaust towards what is appearing at this very moment pales in comparison; I am so sad to say. The horror here is so bad, that I wish I could cry; but no tears will come."

She dares to compare what is currently happening with the Palestinians to the Jewish holocaust, where masses of people (and not just Jews) were systematically rounded up, interned, at times tortured, and then exterminated. Not the same thing Miss Palestine. And where does the factional fighting fit in with this supposed "genocide"? Are her own people a part of that genocidal agenda, because much of the Palestinian violence is Muslim on Muslim (Fatah versus Hamas). Then again, she has blamed Israel and the U.S. for supporting Fatah, so perhaps she does feel that way.Her paranoia is even more evident in an earlier post:

"While there is things out of my control now and I am unable to work as a writer at this time, I thought people should understand what is happening to me. Many people have sent me emails, I think with the recent incursion into the occupied terrorties that something horrific may have happened to me."

Something horrific? Please.

"As some may know, I am apart of the Palestinian Media,[I thought she was just a housewife]as well as some of my work has made it into the global media. If you are Palestinian, some time or other your name will end up on the Israeli hot list for execution; which I did recently and I will admit it is a first for me. I was told recently that some of the execution’s of civilians that wear hijab, nijab or beards was the Israeli attempt to find me and while my heart goes out to all the martyr’s, I am especially upset over the wholesale murder of people especially if the real cause was a murder attempt on my part."

What? A Palestinian housewife was on some Israeli hit list, and a bunch of people were killed who wore hijabs and beards because they were really after her? She has a beard?

"I will assure everyone, that I am not a criminal in any manner, just a simple Palestinian trying to bring foreword the real issues that are effecting us as well as the global situation with the attempt to bring real peace and harmony to the world once again."

As I have said many times before, the peace that Palestinians (like Housewife4Palestine) and others aspire to, is an Islamic world without an Israel.

"Furthermore, this same time, I am in an area that is being infected with an epidemic, which I now have been sick over two weeks and understand that the gestation period if you survive this illness is one month."

Well, we'll see if she is still blogging in a month, and if not, then perhaps I will have to do penance for doubting her ludicrous claims.

"While the current situation as it is, I have been advised to recuperate from my illness, before making a decision’s towards my future endeavourers. It should be understood, what ever my decision would be, it will be through much thought to what Allah wishes of me; for this has always been the driving force in my life. I wish everyone much happiness and a long life, with the hope inshaallah that the world one day will be a better place for all."

The sad truth is that the Palestinians could have peace and harmony if, and only if, they chose to stopfighting. And, unfortunately, if most of the Palestinians think like Housewife4Palestine, and I have a feeling they do, I don't see that happening any time soon. As long as they continue to revel in and relish their victimhood they will continue to kill and be killed.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Well, it's almost graduation time for the school kiddies, and even Palestinians have their versions of kindergarten graduation ceremonies. This is a particularly charming one coming from the Islamic Association in Gaza, which proudly aired on Al-Aqsa (Hamas) TV. We see cute little girls in butterfly costumes doing a little bug dance, then the video cuts to the little boys and their choreographed war dance. The very end of the video is chilling, with the kiddies chanting:

"Who is your role model? The Prophet!!

What is your path? Jihad!!

What is your most loft aspiration? Death for the sake of Allah!!"

Guess they'll be going to Jihad Summer Camp so they can learn how to become better suicide bombers.
Ah yes, the Religion of Peace at it again. Allah Akbar!

Well, I figured it wouldn't take long for someone so englamoured with the spotlight to find her way back to it, though I had no clue it would be this quick. People who are accustomed to attention, like actors, will always "find their light" (a stage term), otherwise they remain in obscurity.

Anti-war icon Cindy Sheehan has gone public on her support for the 9/11 truth movement after she told a radio show that the collapse of the twin towers looked like a controlled demolition and that there should be a new investigation into the terrorist attacks.

Sheehan, who made headlines this week after she distanced herself from the Democratic party and the establishment left, joined Alex Jones to share her views on her skepticism towards the official 9/11 story.

Sheehan said her decision to desert the Democrats was sparked last week when the Iraq war funding bill was passed and it was at this point she realized the Democrats had co-opted her simply to help them regain Congress and that they had no interest in ending the war.

Sheehan attacked Hillary Clinton as a "warhawk" and a "warmonger" and said there was very little distinction between her and John McCain or Rudy Giuliani.

On 9/11, Sheehan expressed her support for the Jersey Girl's petition, which calls for a new independent investigation of the terrorist attacks, slamming the 9/11 Commission Report as a "total travesty and a smokescreen."

"George Bush and Dick Cheney held hands and testified behind closed doors, not under oath," said Sheehan, adding, "There are many things that just don't add up on that day."

Sheehan questioned why U.S. air defenses were distracted by drills and exercises scheduled for the morning of 9/11 and why standard operating procedure for intercepting errant aircraft was not followed for the first and only time in history.

"When you lose control of an airplane, you intercept it with a military jet and that should only take seconds - from what I understand it's not even an order to do that it's mandatory," said Sheehan.

Speaking on the collapse of the twin towers, Sheehan stated, "It does look to me like a controlled demolition - I'm not an expert - but it does look to me like a controlled demolition - I'm looking at common sense."

"I do see some very high profile people saying it was an inside job,"concluded Sheehan.

I knew she wouldn't fade so easily into oblivion. Now, she has another "project" she can focus on, which will continue to garner her the attention she so obviously needs.

Friday, June 01, 2007

There is nothing more despicable than bilking the poor, elderly and/or infirm. And it happens all too often. People are suckered into giving out information to unscrupulous telemarketers who deplete their bank accounts and leave them with barely a cent to their name. And where do these crooks find their potential victims? From publicly traded companies that sell them lists of potential dupes, like InfoUSA that has advertised and sold databases of "Elderly Opportunity Seekers" (with names etc of 3.3 million older people "looking for ways to make money"),and "Suffering Seniors", a list that contained info on 4.7 million people with cancer or Alzheimer's disease. There was also one called "Oldies But Goodies" that included the names of 500,000 gamblers over the age of 55 (which sold for 8.5 cents per name), and one that claimed: "These people are gullible. They want to believe that their luck can change." Telemarketing sales have increased, substantially, in spite of implementing the federal "do not call" registry 3 years ago. Telemarketers grossed more than $177 billion in 2006, and it's estimated that 30% of those sales were to seniors. The elderly are easy prey because "they are often at home, rely on delivery services, and are lonely for the companionship that telephone callers provide."According to an FTC ( Federal Trade Commission) lawyer, C. Steven Baker, “Criminals focus on the elderly because they know authorities will blame the victims or seniors will worry about their kids throwing them into nursing homes. Frequently, the victims are too distracted from dementia or Alzheimer’s to figure out something’s wrong.”One of the many ways these 'thieves' dupe unsuspecting seniors into divulging information about their bank accounts, is by posing as Social Security Administration officials or pharmacy employees claiming that computers have crashed or prescription records are incomplete and then threatening that their medication or checks will be delayed without it. With the pertinent information, in hand, they then rely on banks like Wachovia and others to"create unsigned checks that withdraw funds from victims' accounts. Such checks, once widely used by gyms and other businesses that collect monthly fees, are allowed under a provision of the banking code. The difficult part is finding a bank willing to accept them." Wachovia obviously had no problem complying with that kind of criminal activity, because over the years, the bank has accepted over $142 million worth of unsigned checks and collected millions of dollars in fees from those scam companies. And, in spite of thousands of warnings from the victims' banks and various attorney generals, they continued to do business with those companies until the government filed a law suit in 2006.

InfoUSA, is one of the largest "list brokers" in the U.S. and claims, on its website, to have data on 210 million consumers and 14 million businesses, and although some of its clients are legit (including Reader's Digest and Conde' Naste) they have no compunction dealing with the criminal fringe and have sold thousands of lists to companies that have scammed the elderly.

You might have noticed InfoUSA (owned by Vinod Gupta) in the news recently. Apart from their dubious dealings with scammers of seniors, which has only recently come to light, some angry shareholders filed a law suit last year claiming, among other things, that "Mr. Gupta wasted the company’s money trying “to ingratiate himself” with his high-profile guests."And who might those "high-profile guests" be? None other than La Hillary and Bill Clinton! Gupta, a major fan and supporter, flew the Clintons to Acapulco, Mexico in 2002 (for a family vacation) on his private jet at a cost of $146,866. "During the next four years, infoUSA paid Mr. Clinton more than $2 million for consulting services, and spent almost $900,000 to fly him around the world for his presidential foundation work and to fly Mrs. Clinton to campaign events."Although Hillary's people insist she "complied with all the relevant ethics rules" (i.e. reimbursement of the equivalent of a 1st-class ticket) they refused to share what that amount might be. And though the law suit doesn't specifically mention the Clintons, no-one (on either side) disputes the fact that it does refer to them.The Clintons have a long (and more recently for Bill, 'profitable') history with Gupta. "Before leaving office, Mr. Clinton appointed Mr. Gupta to the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Earlier, Mr. Clinton had nominated him for two minor ambassadorships, which Mr. Gupta declined because of business commitments."Bill received $2.1 million in quarterly payments from July 2003 to April 2005, for his consulting services. His contract was renewed, in October 2005, for another 3 years for 1.2 million, with an option to buy 100,000 shares of company stock. No-one is very forthcoming about what Billy boy actually does for the company, but someone at infoUSA said that Clinton was expected to make appearances at several company events per year, because his presence "adds a lot of credibility."Stormy Dean, CFO of infoUSA insists that Bill has no affiliation with the data collection aspect of the business, and (to be fair) their exploitative business practices were not uncovered until Iowa authorities started investigating questionable telemarketers in 2005. However, infoUSA was found to have helped provide lists to companies that had already been prosecuted for fraud, or were under investigation, dating back to, at least, 2001. Someone must have known. And why did it take the recent New York Times article (about the Iowa investigation in 2005!) to arouse the interest of the FTC? They stated they might start investigating infoUSA themselves, but what took so long, and will they actually follow through? And surely, Presidents and Presidential candidates would want to make sure that those they affiliate with (and accept donations from) are above reproach. I would assume they have the resources to research the backgrounds of potential donors, particularly the high profile ones. And I find it doubly ironic that the Clintons would cozy up to a company that collects personal data and information on millions of individuals and businesses (from various sources, both legit and questionable) when Senator Clinton has sponsored legislation protecting consumers' rights to privacy. But I guess it's just politics, as usual. And more hypocrisy from the liberal elite.